Slice and Bake biscuits. Pure nostalgia. A trip back to my childhood. A good old-fashioned stalwart from The Australian Women’s Weekly. Infinitely adaptable. Incredibly easy to make. Beat together butter and icing sugar. Add your choice of flavouring, nuts, chocolate or dried fruit. Flour and a little milk. Knead. Shape into logs. Refrigerate. Slice and bake.

Sunday night baking. After a busy weekend I want to get in and out of the kitchen fast. So tonight I’m making Slice and Bake Biscuits. One recipe. Two ways. A traditional melt in your mouth lemon version filled with currants.  And a  modern twist on the ever popular chocolate chip cookie. Vanilla filled with caramel bits.  Absolutely delicious. Even though it’s Sunday night and I’m pushed for time I double the quantities provided in the recipe. The method in my madness?  Containers filled with biscuits on the kitchen bench and  logs of  dough wrapped and stored in the freezer. Ready to be sliced and baked at a moment’s notice. Is everybody happy? You bet we are!

Old Fashioned Slice and Bake Biscuits. With Vanilla and Caramel Bits
Adapted from The Australian Women’s Weekly.

Makes 48 Biscuits

250g butter
1¼ cups (200g) icing sugar mixture
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 cups (300g) plain flour
½ cup (75g) rice flour
1/3 cup (50g) cornflour
1 packet (230 g) caramel bits
2 tablespoons milk

BEAT the butter, icing sugar mixture and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Stir through a packet of caramel bits with the combined sifted flours.combined in 2 batches, then the milk; mix well.

DIVIDE the mixture in half. Knead each half on a lightly floured surface until smooth, then roll each half into a 25 cm log. Wrap each log in baking paper and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. If you are not intending to bake biscuits within 2 days, wrap them in foil and freeze.

PREHEAT oven to moderately slow (160°C). Cut the logs into 1 cm slices and place 3 cm apart on greased oven trays. Bake the biscuits in a moderately slow oven for about 20 minutes or until a pale golden colour.

For the Lemon and Currant Variation

Omit vanilla essence and beat the finely grated zest of 1 lemon with butter and icing sugar, then stir through ¾ cup of currants with combined sifted flours. Once baked and while the biscuits are still hot out of the oven sprinkle with a tablespoon of caster sugar.